Developer: Insomniac Games
Publisher: Sony Interactive Entertainment
Platforms: PS4
Tested on: PS4
Marvel’s Spider-Man: A Silver Lining DLC – Review
Third time’s the charm is as the saying goes. The DLC of Marvel’s Spider-Man desperately needed a massive dose of charm, as the last parts in the ‘City That Never Sleeps’ arc were underwhelming. So the final part in the DLC was released as a last hurrah to the smash hit that was the PlayStation 4’s exclusive super hero game which was released right before the merry season, where red and white are also a part of the roof to roof jumping, although Santa isn’t exactly bitten by a radioactive spider and Peter Parker doesn’t need a reindeer to traverse New York.
Story
The story of the last piece of DLC of Marvel’s Spider-man wraps up the Hammerhead and the Maggia gang act. As the events unfold, older characters jump in and try to get their own personality arc going. Sadly, like the other pieces of DLC, it’s short and characters thus feel a little too shallow. They can’t get fleshed out because of the little amount of actual story telling that takes place in this piece of content and the overall amount of writing done for the complete set of DLC. The problem lies in the fact that the writing of the main game builds characters and the world around it so good, that when it doesn’t do so, it feels incomplete, the lacking nature of it clearly shows. The showing is balanced by the telling between the characters.
Graphics
There’s not a lot more to say that hasn’t already been said before. The game is beautiful and runs smoothly. There are a few new enemies. There are also new costumes for you to deck out Peter Parker with. The Silver Lining DLC does something the rest of the game hasn’t done quite yet. Sure there’s blood in the final part of the main game, but actual torture feels weird to have when not killing is the shtick of the hero.
Sound
The sound of this DLC is on par with what’s already been released. The voice acting is really, really good. What’s even better is that Silver Sable doesn’t sound too over the top, she doesn’t sound like a laughable caricature of a person because of her accent. The overall sound mixing with the machinery and the weaponry is diverse enough for you to know when enemies are aiming at you and you have time to dodge out of the way. Again the DLC makes use of the systems already in place from the main game, so can’t dock points or give this piece of content points for something that’s already working.
Gameplay
Marvel’s Spider-Man: A Silver Lining is the ultimate piece of DLC tying up all the loose ends. It’s still the action/adventure game just like the rest of the content. There’s little to no new things in this piece that hasn’t been done before. There’s the bases of evildoers that you have to clear out. Alongside random side activities which mirror the previous piece of DLC: Turf Wars
Usually pieces of DLC add new weaponry, moves or skills for you to unlock, so you can use them on the enemies, making the gameplay loop of skilly, killy, repeat, less repetitive. This piece of DLC does not do that, to be fair none of the DLC does it, and this makes the gameplay feel stale and uninspired. What was once great gameplay content has grown tedious and bothersome. This makes it so that players won’t be as immersed or involved in the content at hand.
The only thing ‘A Silver Lining’ has going for itself is having very hard combat challenges. This is fine if you are looking for a challenge, but if it’s just a difficult piece of content just for the sake of being difficult it is cumbersome.
Conclusion
Marvel’s Spider-man will hopefully get a second installment, with an equally decent written story, but a more interesting cast of foes than being showcased in the ‘A Silver Lining’ DLC. The pitfall that made the other pieces of DLC feel uninspired and tacked on, makes its appearance again in this piece. When seeing the ‘The City That Never Sleeps’ arc completely, the question remains, is it worth it as a whole. Players might be on the fence on whether to buy the season pass, but that’s completely up to whether or not the player in question likes more of the same to tide them over until the sequel is eventually released, or not. If not, then don’t buy it, if you lust more after the status quo that’s been established then ‘The City That Never Sleeps’ is just up your alley.
Marvel's Spider-Man: A Silver Lining DLC - Review,
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